Tough gymnastics
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. Gymnastics is far from risk-free. Researchers who looked at national data on kids say gymnastics results in about 27,000 injuries a year that wind up in emergency rooms. The most common – 44 percent – were strains and sprains, most commonly in gymnasts ages 12 to 17. Fractures and dislocations were diagnosed about 30 percent of the time, most commonly in gymnasts ages 6 to 11. Lara McKenzie at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio: ``We may be able to prevent and reduce the number of gymnastics-related injuries if we were to establish a uniform set of rules and regulations for gymnasts, trainers and coaches.’’ (10 seconds) The study was in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics. One researcher received funds from a training program supported by the National Institutes of Health. Learn more at hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: April, 07 2008 |